If you search for the average salary in Ukraine, you will find figures ranging from twenty-four to thirty-three thousand hryvnias for the same period. This is not a mistake. Different sources simply measure different things, and without understanding this difference, any comparison is meaningless. All the data below is current as of September 2026.

Three Sources That Measure Different Things

Official statistics calculate the accrued salary of full-time employees, with the survey covering legal entities with ten or more employees. This means that entrepreneurs, small-business employees, and any payments outside the official payroll are not included. Because of this, the official figure reflects the situation at medium-sized and large enterprises, rather than the market as a whole. Job-search platforms calculate something else, meaning what employers offer in vacancies. This is not what people receive, but what they are promised in order to attract them. Industry communities, for example in the technology sector, calculate responses from their own audience, and by definition it is not a random sample.

None of these sources is lying. The first simply shows the past at large enterprises, the second shows employers' intentions, and the third shows a specific community.

Average or Median

The second point that changes the picture. The average salary is calculated as the sum of all salaries divided by the number of people, so several very high salaries noticeably pull it upward. The median shows the value above which half of people earn and below which the other half earn. It is closer to reality for most people. The difference is noticeable. With the official average being over thirty thousand hryvnias, the median salary in vacancies at the beginning of 2026 was approximately twenty-seven and a half thousand, and according to some estimates it is even lower. So when you read about the average salary and think that you earn less than everyone else, it is worth taking into account that most people earn less than the average by definition.

Accrued or Take-Home

The third point, which is almost never written about, although it concerns everyone. Official statistics provide the accrued amount, meaning before taxes are withheld. Eighteen percent personal income tax and five percent military levy are withheld from it, meaning twenty-three percent in total. In practice, this means that from an accrued thirty-two and a half thousand hryvnias, approximately twenty-five thousand arrives in the account. It is precisely because of this discrepancy that official figures often seem inflated to people, although they are correct.

The Official Picture by Industry

According to official statistics, in June 2026 the average salary in the country was approximately thirty-two thousand seven hundred and eighty-three hryvnias, while annual nominal growth was about twenty-five percent. The leader remains the information and telecommunications sector, with a figure of approximately seventy-eight thousand hryvnias, and according to the latest data, almost eighty thousand. Finance and insurance come second, with a figure of about sixty-three thousand. Professional and scientific activities provide approximately thirty-eight thousand. Electricity and gas supply approximately thirty-six and a half thousand. Wholesale and retail trade approximately thirty-four thousand. Public administration and defense approximately thirty-three and a half thousand. Manufacturing approximately thirty-one thousand seven hundred. Transportation and storage approximately twenty-eight thousand. Agriculture approximately twenty-seven and a half thousand. Construction approximately twenty-three thousand. Temporary accommodation and food services approximately twenty-two and a half thousand. The lowest figures are in education, with approximately sixteen to seventeen thousand, and the arts, sports, and entertainment sector, with approximately twenty thousand. Pay attention to the gap, since the difference between the highest and lowest industries is approximately four to five times.

What Is Actually Offered in Vacancies

Here the picture is different, and these figures are more useful for someone looking for a job now. Median salaries for specific vacancies in August 2026 looked like this. The head of a sales department topped the ranking with a figure of one hundred and ten thousand hryvnias. Plasterer eighty thousand. Facade worker seventy thousand. Tiler seventy thousand. Bricklayer sixty-five thousand. Driver forty thousand, and in terms of the number of offers, this is the second position with more than eight thousand vacancies. General laborer thirty thousand. Loader twenty-eight and a half thousand. Body repair specialist twenty-seven and a half thousand. Salesperson twenty-four thousand two hundred, and this profession leads in the number of offers with more than nine thousand vacancies.

An Inversion That Did Not Exist Several Years Ago

Here is the most interesting observation from these data. Skilled construction trades have surpassed most office positions in terms of median salary, and a plasterer with a figure of eighty thousand hryvnias exceeds the average offer in the technology sector on job-search platforms, which is about thirty-one thousand. The reason is a severe shortage of personnel, and analysts directly link the increase in salaries in these professions precisely to it. For comparison, the median salary of a salesperson has increased over four years from approximately ten thousand seven hundred to twenty-four thousand two hundred hryvnias, meaning more than twice. The practical conclusion is that scarce skills are currently paid better than prestigious ones, and this is worth taking into account for those choosing an area of study.

Regional Gap

Geography affects income no less than the profession. In Kyiv, the average salary in June 2026 was approximately forty-eight and a half thousand hryvnias, meaning approximately one and a half times higher than the national average. The lowest figures in individual regions are approximately twenty-one thousand, meaning that the gap between the capital and the poorest regions reaches approximately two and a half times. This is precisely why remote work for a company in the capital or a foreign company from a region provides the largest increase in income with the same qualifications, and I wrote about the mechanics of such cooperation in a separate material.

Separately About the Technology Sector

Here, caution with the figures is needed. Official statistics give approximately eighty thousand hryvnias for the information and telecommunications sector, but this is an average across the entire sector, including telecommunications, and it is shifted upward due to the capital and experienced specialists. At the same time, the average offer for vacancies in this sector on job-search platforms is approximately thirty-one thousand, which is almost three times lower. Industry surveys provide even higher figures, but their sample consists of an active audience of a specialized community, meaning people who already work in the industry and are willing to respond to such surveys. The practical conclusion is that to assess entry-level positions, it is worth focusing specifically on offers in vacancies rather than the industry average. I wrote separately about the real state of entering this field in more detail.

How to Assess Your Market Value

General figures are useful for understanding the context, but a different approach is needed for a personal decision.

Look at vacancies specifically for your position, rather than for the industry, and write down the stated ranges. Take the median, not the average, meaning the middle value from the list, rather than the highest one. Take the region into account, since the same position is paid differently in Kyiv and in a region. Check exactly what is included in the stated amount, meaning whether it is an accrued salary or a take-home amount. Compare it with offers for remote work, since they are usually higher than local ones. Take unpaid elements into account, meaning the availability of vacation, sick leave, and official employment.

What These Figures Do Not Show

Shadow payments, which official statistics by definition do not see. Incomes of entrepreneurs, who are not included in the survey of full-time employees. Actual purchasing power, since salary growth is partially eaten up by inflation. Differences between industries within the same city.

Working conditions, schedule, and stability, which for many people matter no less than the amount.

Summary

The three figures you will find when searching for the average salary measure different things, meaning official statistics show accrued payments at medium-sized and large enterprises, platforms show employers' offers, and industry surveys show specific communities.

For personal decisions, the third group of data is the most useful, meaning median salaries for specific vacancies, and they show something unexpected, since construction professions currently offer more than the average office position due to the shortage of personnel.

And it is worth remembering a simple adjustment that almost everyone overlooks, meaning that official amounts are accrued, and approximately one quarter less arrives in the account.


Sources

State Statistics Service of Ukraine, Work.ua data on salaries in vacancies, analysis of median salaries by profession as presented by Gazeta.ua and Khreshchatyk, publications by Nfront and EuroFest